The Cathedral of the Holy Family is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is the mother church of the

Diocese of Tulsa The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa ( la, Dioecesis Tulsensis) is a particular church of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Ecclesiastical province of Oklahoma City covering the eastern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It ...

and is the seat of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. It is located at 810 South Boulder Avenue in the city of

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

in the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. The parish chose architect J.P. Curtin of the Tulsa firm Curtin, Winkler, and Macdonald to design the church. Curtin was chosen over architect William P. Ginther of

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

, who built many Roman Catholic churches throughout the Midwest. Ginther designed an alternate plan for the church trustees who had concerns about Curtin's design. All that remains of Ginther's work is a set of blueprints. Construction on the current structure began May 23, 1912 and Mass dedicating the church was on April 1, 1914. It was the tallest building in Tulsa until the Mayo Hotel was built in 1923.Tulsa Preservation Commission Web site. "Holy Family Cathedral, Rectory & School."Accessed September 29. 2010

The cathedral is also the site of the Holy Family Cathedral School, an educational institution for students from pre-school to

eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

. The Diocese of Tulsa was established in 1973. Buildings at this site were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

February 11, 1982. The NRIS number is 82003704.

History

Holy Family Church

About 1890, the Rev. Wm Ketcham, the Roman Catholic pastor of Muskogee (then part of

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

), visited Tulsa from time to time to say Mass in a private residence. He and his superior, Bishop Theophile Meerschaert, then vicar apostolic of Oklahoma, obtained permission from the Creek Indian tribal chief to build a church. However, no building was constructed until several years later."Holy Family Church Tulsa, Indian Territory" Beginning in November 1897, the Rev. Charles Van Hulse visited Tulsa (then also part of Indian Territory) once a month to hold Roman Catholic church services in a private residence. At the start of 1899, a subscription drive raised pledges of $1,400 for the purpose of building a church. A contract was let in May, 1899 and the building was dedicated on September 10, 1899. The Rev. Theophilius Van Hulse succeeded his brother in November 1900, and remained in Tulsa until 1906 when he was succeeded by the Rev. John G. Heiring, who oversaw plans to expand the church facilities. This included expanding the rectory and the school.

Holy Family Cathedral

By 1910, the church had outgrown its original capacity. Father Heiring turned his attention to building a new complex at the intersection of Eighth and Boulder, the present location. Construction of the sanctuary was completed in only two years with construction of the rectory beginning five years later, in 1919.

Holy Family School

The history of Holy Family School is intertwined with that of the church. Tulsa Catholics petitioned Bishop Meerschaert to establish a Catholic school in Tulsa."Holy Family Cathedral School: Tulsa's First Catholic School.
Retrieved May 8, 2014. In 1899, Mother Katharine Drexel (later canonized), an heiress to the Drexel banking family of Philadelphia, responded to the request by providing funds to construct St. Theresa's Institute, the predecessor of Holy Family School. Initially, this was designated to benefit Indian and African American children of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories. Children of all races were admitted beginning in 1910. When the initial loan was repaid ten years later, the school was renamed Holy Family School. Three Sisters of Mount Carmel came from New Orleans to teach at the new school. They were replaced in 1902 by

Sisters of Divine Providence The Congregation of Divine Providence (or Sisters of Divine Providence) is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes of women which have developed from the work of the Blessed Jean-Martin Moye (1730-1793), a French Catholic priest. Th ...

from San Antonio. In January 2020, Holy Family Cathedral School transitioned to a classical Catholic school. As of August 2020, it is the only Catholic school in the Diocese of Tulsa to offer a classical curriculum.

Notes

References

External links

Official Cathedral Site

Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa Official Site

Holy Family Cathedral School Home Page.
{{NRHP in Tulsa County Holy Family in Tulsa Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa Churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma Churches completed in 1914 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1914 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States